Reviews

FRISCO – Hurt foot? What hurt foot?

WILLIAM DESHAZER/DMN

Kenny Chesney showed no signs of his foot injury from a recent stage mishap during his show Saturday at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco.

Country music's reigning king, Kenny Chesney, showed no signs Saturday night of the injury he suffered a week ago in Columbia, S.C., when his right foot got caught between the stage and a hydraulic lift.

Headlining a show that opened with rock-heavy sets by LeAnn Rimes and Brooks & Dunn, Mr. Chesney scooted up and down the thrust runway at Pizza Hut Park singing his Everyman tunes as if he felt just fine.

"Play something country," Brooks & Dunn implored before Mr. Chesney ascended the stage using that same hydraulic lift. But there was a better chance of hearing a Cheap Trick cover than anything resembling traditional country music: LeAnn Rimes closed with a rousing version of "I Want You to Want Me." In fact, not until several songs into the nearly two-hour concert did Mr. Chesney begin to sound like more than another rocked-up commercial-country product.

It started with "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problems" and he kept on rolling with the twin twang of "Don't Blink" and "Shiftwork" from his latest album, split by the 12-year-old live staple "Back Where I Come From."

Mr. Chesney has a ringing, clear-as-a-bell voice better suited to ballads than rockers, especially in a noisy stadium setting.

Ms. Rimes established the tone with a blazing array of up-tempo tunes. From "Good Friend and a Glass of Wine" to "Family," the title cut from her latest crossover album, this no-longer-girl displayed a powerful set of pipes and plenty of conviction.

Brooks & Dunn also focused on the rockier end of their hit-machine catalog with good results, from the misnamed "Play Something Country" to "Little Miss Honky Tonk" and "Rock My World Little Country Girl."

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